Former UFC star Georges St-Pierre has remarkably revealed he actually 'hates' fighting.

Widely regarded as one of the sport's true greats, the now 39-year-old two-weight champion hung up his gloves in 2019, and now retired, has extraordinarily revealed he was never too keen on the actual fighting part.

Speaking in the latest edition of the Complex Sports Podcast, St-Pierre stated he loved to win, but added that the stress and danger that came with competing, was too much to handle at times.

"I don’t like the fighting. I hate it. It’s unbearable.

"The feeling of stress. Not knowing if you will be humiliated or you might get hurt. It’s so hard.

"But when you win a fight, it’s really worth it. The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. So that’s why I did it. Not because I love to fight. I love to win.”

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Winning both welterweight and middleweight titles during his 15-year career, the Canadian was one of the trailblazers in UFC's early days, having made his debut against Karo Parisyan at UFC 46 in 2004.

Losing just two fights during his time in UFC, his only knockout defeat came against Matt Serra in 2007, but his experience in that fight has perhaps now shaped his views.  

For many fighters and fans alike, UFC is about the glitz and glamour of the bright lights, but as the Quebec native went on to say, the chance for long-term damage or even death, is real. 

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“In fighting, you only get one take. If you zig when you should zag -- boom! It can cost you not only a loss but it can cost you obviously cerebral damage.

“Damage that can cause your death. It’s very dangerous.”

St-Pierre is now focussing on an acting career, and is soon set to reprise his role as Georges Batroc in the upcoming Marvel series 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'.

That has not however, stopped rumours surfacing of a UFC comeback, with Khabib Nurmagomedov reportedly keen on fighting his hero in the near future.